You probably spotted these delish looking bowls on Instagram too, and mistook them for being just another one-pot recipe—but they’re so not! Read on as we spill the deets on this particular food trend that has veggies and vegans all over going nuts about it!
What are Buddha Bowls?
Buddha Bowls are colourful, healthy and supremely satisfying to the eye. They’ve also been termed as hippie bowls and macro bowls. While its contents may vary, a typical Buddha Bowl ideally consists of veggies (raw or roasted), grains (rice, oats or quinoa), seeds and proteins (tofu or meat). All that, topped with some handsome dressing to add to the deliciousness and up the visual appeal.
Why are they called Buddha Bowls?
According to Urban Dictionary, and we all go to it more often than not, Buddha Bowls are called so because they’re so wholly packed, they end up resembling the round belly of a Buddha. However, a more rational explanation was provided by author Dan Zigmond (Buddha's Diet: The Ancient Art of Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind) who narrated that—Buddha woke up before dawn every morning and carried his bowl through the roads or paths wherever he was staying. Local people would place food in the bowl as a donation, and at the end he would eat whatever he had been given. So that was the original Buddha Bowl.
How are Buddha Bowls made?
There are no definite guidelines to making a Buddha Bowl. It’s entirely up to you and your taste buds to pick your favourite veggies and play around with different dressings and toppings. However, always start with cooking your grains and proteins, then add some cooked veggies to it and throw in a few raw ones on top. You could either finish it by adding fresh fruits for an interesting fusion or your regular salad dressing does it too.
Here's an interesting Buddha Bowl recipe by blogger ‘Minimalist Baker’...
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive or grapeseed oil
1/2 sliced red onion,
2 large sweet potatoes
227 g chopped broccolini
2 big handfuls kale
1/4 tsp each salt + pepper
425 g chickpeas
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and arrange sweet potatoes and onions on a bare baking sheet
- Drizzle both with a bit of oil, making sure the flesh of the sweet potatoes are well coated and placed skin side down on the sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven flip sweet potatoes and add broccolini. Drizzle broccolini with a bit of oil and season with a pinch each salt and pepper.
- Bake for another 8-10 minutes, then remove from oven and add kale. Drizzle kale with a touch more oil and season with a pinch each salt and pepper. Bake for another 4-5 minutes then set aside.
- While vegetables are roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add chickpeas to a mixing bowl and toss with seasonings.
- Once hot, add 1 Tbsp oil and chickpeas and sauté, stirring frequently. If they’re browning too quickly, turn down heat. If there isn’t much browning going on, increase heat. I found 10 minutes total at slightly over medium heat was perfect.
- Once the chickpeas are browned and fragrant, remove from heat and set aside.
- Slice sweet potatoes into bite size pieces. Divide vegetables between 3 serving bowls and top with chickpeas and dressing.
While that's a great recipe, it still takes quite a bit of an effort to make it. If you're somehow too busy (or lazy) to make a Buddha Bowl, then we'd recommend trying them out at your local restaurants. Hit up that search engine, we're sure you'll find one in close vicinity.
Image Credits: Well and Full, The View from Great Island, The Healthy Maven, Eat Spin Run Repeat, Minimalist Baker
Written by Shreya Contractor on Jun 06, 2017